Humberstone once served a flourishing nitrate-mining town at the junction of the Pan American Highway and the road to Iquique. It became a ghost town when the mining stopped in 1960. Forty-three years later, this abandoned town is almost perfectly preserved in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Some of its interiors, such as this schoolroom, have been carefully restored to their original appearance, right down to the paint on the desks. I wanted more than just a picture of a schoolroom, and the light streaming through its one window and onto its desks and floor, gave it to me. I used this light as a symbol – a glowing substitute for the energy of children who have long since departed.